Yet To Come?
by Nonamenonamenonameplease
Summary: Beast Wars with a dash of Beast Machines. Takes place during the end of Other Voices Part 2 up to the beginning of Coming Of The Fuzors Part 2. During his would-be death, Optimus Primal has a rather interesting dreamlike experience.


Death. Death and emotional pain. That's all Optimus Primal felt at this very moment. Just as anybody'd pictured, death was a cold black void with the only light emitting from past Transformers' sparks and some stars. It could almost make one think both to be one and the same; maybe stars were actually composed not of miscellaneous burning gases but rather of dead sparks? Either way, such hardly mattered at present.

Optimus Primal couldn't believe his predicament. Now, he obviously didn't mind undertaking the risky task of eliminating the aliens' planet buster. Megatron was right about one thing despite the gorilla Transformer's disgust: Autobot and Maximal leaders did have a penchant for sacrificing themselves in the name of justice. But would Optimus' team have a good chance carrying on without him? Would they win the Beast Wars or go down trying? Were Rhinox and Rattrap's equal worthiness as lieutenants enough regardless of Dinobot's unsurprising issues with taking orders from the latter? If only there'd been another way…

But Optimus Primal soon shook off the notion; he'd died, and there was nothing he could do about it other than accept his fate. After all, death never picked favorites. The Maximal leader felt his outer gorilla covering fade away little by little upon nearing the core of the Allspark. Just a few more nanoklicks before he bid the physical realm goodbye. Who knew? Maybe somehow someday, he'd find a means to watch good friends in battle if allowed; maybe he'd even meet them again a tad later. Ah, the possibilities. However, fate had other plans in mind. Optimus Primal immediately felt a reversing motion as his robot physique reappeared and the Allspark faded into the distance. So, his time wasn't up yet? Whatever the deal, Optimus Primal then did a double-take at himself. His body started to look nothing like he'd grown to recognize before the aliens struck: blue shoulders and thighs; grayish-blue hands and feet; a red stripe wrapped around each wrist and ankle; strange grayish-blue projections from his back; why, even his head felt different. Neither Maximals nor Predacons knew much about the aliens, so was this all an invoked trick by them? "Optimus?" came a voice from nowhere, "Optimus Primal?"

It sounded somewhat like Scorponok but with Rhinox and Dinobot's demeanors combined. Optimus Primal no longer minded his metamorphosis. "Who…who's there?"

"Optimus?" came the voice again, "Optimus? …Optimus? …Optimus?"

Everything then faded into pitch black before Optimus Primal slowly opened his eyes again amongst other voices. "He…he's coming to!" a voice exactly like Airazor's declared. When detail emerged from blurriness, the leader noticed three heads – one of which was hard not to mistake for the falcon Transformer in question – staring back, relieved. One other figure had a dark-tan head with a wrinkly face and a blue central patch haircut; a mandrill's head for a torso; blue fur on the rest of his body to match the haircut; gray mandrill hands and feet; and rectangular missile launchers situated diagonally below his shoulders. The figure's expression currently expressed slight overconfidence in the leader's recovery.

The second unknown figure's squid beast mode hinted that he must be an aquatic specialist of some sort. He boasted a pentagon-shaped head colored indigo on the top with fuchsia streaks outlining a face. A mouth of suction cups lay beneath yellow eyes. Two trios of orange tentacles on his back spread out like wings, and two more lay still just below a chest containing squid pincers. A large fuchsia tentacle composing each arm matched indigo-speckled fuchsia legs from a squid head. "Wh-where am I?" Sitting straight up on some laboratory platform, a mirror on the other side of the room gave him a better chance to inspect himself. While Airazor felt concerned and the mandrill overconfident, the squid Transformer seemed neutral.

Again, Optimus Primal no longer recognized himself. The projections on his back turned out to be bat wings. A bat head composed his torso. His robot head looked much sleeker, also with yellow eyes. He even noticed swords – his only weapons now – underneath the wings almost like those from when he was a gorilla. The others walked over for interrogation. "I knew you'd make it through," the mandrill (of whom the mysterious voice belonged to) spoke, "Nothing tops our leader."

"What's going on here, Airazor?" Optimus Primal asked, "Who're these two? Where're Rhinox, Rattrap, Cheetor, Blackarachnia, Tigatron, Dinobot, and…and…and what about the alien planet destroyer?"

"Well, someone's full of questions today," the squid commented, "Can't wait until the CR chambers are running again. Criminy, why'd they break in the landing?"

"Optimus, what's with you?" Airazor returned, "Did you have that bad a fall? Don't you remember anything?"

"The last thing I remember was going up in the explosion with that planet destroyer."

"What planet destroyer?" the mandrill wondered.

But Optimus Primal took a closer look at his surroundings before replying to the last question. "Wait a second. This isn't the Axalon."

"Axalon?" the squid said, "Nah, this is the good ship Magnaboss."

"Magnaboss…?" Optimus Primal said. Nothing added up here. Airazor apparently didn't remember the aliens' latest assault; the leader recognized nobody else; he now stood in some ship named Magnaboss rather than the good old Axalon; and no external commotion. What about current interplanetary location? Rather than wait for an answer, Optimus Primal rounded the doorway down a corridor searching out the main ship entrance. But he naturally encountered trouble in an unknown environment.

"Where ya goin'?" the mandrill called.

"To the main entrance," Optimus Primal replied, "I gotta have a better look outside."

"But there's raw Energon outside," the squid reminded, "Not to mention you missed your first right turn." So Optimus Primal doubled back and followed those directions, immediately stepping into the control room. It all looked like a smaller version of the Axalon, with different hallways and only four commanding stations. Blindly darting out the door wasn't the best idea, but Optimus Primal needed observe up close how the planet destroyer affected Earth during his short absence. The others held him back gently as his hand reached the opening mechanism.

"Wait a minute, boss," the mandrill warned, "You weren't just gonna step out into the open?"

"Why, there still too much raw Energon?" Optimus Primal answered.

"You really don't remember," Airazor confirmed.

"Hold on a cycle," Optimus Primal requested, stepping towards the room center and breaking away from the group. Where'd the others go? Why didn't Airazor remember what the leader did? Who were these two new members and where'd they come from? Did the alien weapon play a part here? Against better judgement, the bat Transformer decided he better make up some lies. "Okay. I'm feeling better, yet I'm not."

"Come again?" a confused squid Transformer spoke.

"Some of my memory banks got scrambled somehow. I still remember us being Maximals; I remember Airazor; and I still know myself as Maximal leader Optimus Primal. Anything else?"

"Good start," Airazor volunteered, "Let's start off with introductions. As you already heard, this is our ship the Magnaboss." She motioned to the mandrill. "This is our guerilla warfare specialist B'Boom." She pointed at the squid. "He's Claw Jaw, functioning in underwater attack. And there are only four of us sent on this mission."

"Okay," Optimus Primal acknowledged, "What mission?"

The four gathered around the central computer as the three followers worked the controls. Several button pressings brought up a map of that galaxy: A large blue sphere near the upper left corner represented a familiar-looking planet; a smaller purple sphere diagonally across the blue one with around one klick of space in between; and a tiny Maximal insignia obviously indicating this group's location on the purple sphere with a Predacon insignia eastward doing likewise for some Predacon group. B'Boom pointed at the blue sphere. "That's Cybertron." He pointed at the purple one. "This is a planet our scientists discovered nearly three years ago, codenamed HP 135; our current position." Claw Jaw pushed another button to display a photograph of the planet's surface up close: nothing much besides lush vegetation, water, rock outcroppings, and three or four abandoned Maximal stations scattered about.

"I see," Optimus Primal spoke, "Do continue."

"Last week, satellites picked up a strange essence emanating in the upper quadrant." B'Boom pointed at a space just above both insignias. "We couldn't get any more information, so the Maximal Council sent us here for inspection. They sent us because we're the bravest and most reliable quartet available."

"Just us four? Nobody by the name of Rhinox, or even Cheetor?"

"Nope. Anyway, both planets are a mere few thousand or so nanoklicks apart; nothing our team can't handle, I personally think, even though it took several days. Unfortunately, the Predacons got the same info and made off like us. Their leader is some maniac who's renamed himself after the Decepticon commander from the Great War."

"Megatron…" Optimus Primal growled, clenching fists and (if he still had any) gritting teeth. If nothing worse, the Maximal leader would never forgive the Predacon leader for getting him trapped inside that trick pod.

B'Boom unwittingly ignored the reason. "Yes, he's a real sicko. He and three others stole a ship called the Tripredacus, named of course for the Tripredacus Council, to come here for the same reasons. We shot each other down into one of HP 135's Energon-rich sectors yesterday and picked up protective beast modes. You can probably guess what harm those Predacons might cause should they attain the mysterious essence first, for all its brimming energy."

"I'll take it from here, big blue," Claw Jaw offered, "Basically, we gotta get to this thing first and see what we can do from there or suffer the consequences. We were all just in the middle of planning everything until you conked out. Why, I couldn't say."

"Just the four of us? For how long?"

"You've forgotten too much," Airazor picked up, "We became a team on the first anniversary of this planet's discovery. And because you had more military experience, we elected you as leader here."

Optimus Primal then observed his bat components again. "A bat, huh? Strange; I could swear I was a gorilla only yesterday, before those aliens unveiled their planet buster. Sure I wasn't transferred to a new protoform body instead?"

"Scanners are scanners," Claw Jaw shrugged, "Beast forms just come randomly, fossil or live. And what aliens? The Predacons are the only nuisances here; they're good, but I don't think they have anything as advanced as a 'planet buster'."

"True," Airazor agreed, "Other than our presence, it's been pretty quiet on HP 135."

"If…if you say so," Optimus Primal decided, absorbing the story. What of his mission involving following the Predacons to prehistoric Earth? Had it all been one big dream? Was this reality? The uncertain leader again dispelled those questions and decided he'd play along via assuming his assigned role until he learned the true score. "Okay, Maximals, let's get into gear. What'd we discuss again?"

B'Boom pressed yet another button to unveil a topographical map of the northern region. "The territory upon which both groups landed is very mountainous, but somewhat flatter land surrounds the strange essence." Up came aerial views of a grassy section, a forest, scattered water patches, a river, and then a volcanic ridge. "Satellite imagery detects a short plain standing between the mountains and some extra-dense forest. Behind that lies this peculiar volcanic ridge where the essence was last distinguished."

Meanwhile, a similar meeting was underway over at the Tripredacus (reminiscent of the Darkside). Had Optimus Primal witnessed it, he would've only recognized Inferno as he did Airazor. "Not much water on this landscape," Megatron commented, "And yet, so much vegetation. Ugh." It seems Megatron also sometime ago received a replacement beast mode: green shoulders and thighs; olive-green hands and feet; crocodile paws for limb ornaments; and a crocodile head composing the torso. Gone were his tyrannosaurus legs, head-hand, and archosaurian tail clamp. His head with new fangs sticking out was the only recognizable feature left. On his left stood a Predacon follower having taken the beast mode of a praying mantis: purple insect wings; giant green claws with red-orange markings; green body; mantis head below a chest made of purple insect legs; and a purple face.

A short distance away, Inferno berated a second new member who'd chosen a mosquito as his beast mode. A purple head bore two pairs of white pincers beside a round mouth on an uneasy expression. Purple shoulders and thighs; brown hands with claws and dark-brown insect legs by the elbows; brown ankles with white markings; yellow-orange insect wings; and a mosquito head composing the chest completed this feral figure. Like Airazor, Megatron and Inferno apparently forgot about the other Predacons as they did incidents involving the aliens. "And in this one spot," the mantis spoke, "From yesterday's report, you'd think the vines and trees were in the same kind of war as us."

"Save the musing, Manterror," Megatron continued, "You'll have plenty time after we win the chase. Anyhow, yesterday's report also notes this line here other than the river being the Maximals' only nearest clear path, which their scientists carved out the same year of the planet's discovery." The Predacon leader traced his finger along the projected landscape.

"Tranzzzquito muzzzt fight," the mosquito said, speaking in third-person with Waspinator's voice tinge, "Tranzzzzquito wantzzzz to rip the Maximalzzzz to shredzzzz!"

"Silence, drone!" Inferno demanded, "The colony will not tolerate your impudence!"

"And Tranzzzquito won't tolerate waiting around! He wantzzzz zzzome action right now!"

"The path crosses the river right about here," Megatron continued, ignoring the argument, "I hear crocodiles prefer salty water to fresh water, but I'll improvise since I'm no ordinary crocodile, if you know what I mean. Yeees."

"Brilliant," Manterror complimented, "So where's that leave the rest of us?"

"Has your little trap been perfected yet?"

"I think so. All I require to set it up at the exit is a few cycles or so."

"Do not anger the royalty, drone!" Inferno ordered.

"Tranzzzzquito feelzzzz like a few roundzzzz! How about it, fire ant?"

By now, Megatron decided he'd had enough. "Why don't the both of you cut it out this instant before you waste power reserves intended for the battlefield?"

"It is not my fault, Your Excellency," Inferno defended, "I only intended to keep this ruffian worker in line."

Megatron calmed down a little bit. "Yes, perhaps. Transquito does enjoy his job too much."

"It can't be helped. Tranzzzzquito hazzzz thizzzz thing going on inzzzzide hizzzz core prozzzzezzzzor."

"Need I remind Transquito that showing patience is nothing compared to what **I** can do? Because if you don't start showing some self-control around here, I will personally tear off all except your head from your torso and drop you right on a raw Energon spire once this mission's over. Understand?" Transquito grumbled but nodded his acknowledging head. "Good. Now, where were we?"

"Speaking of Energon, concentrations apparently decrease as one moves northward," Manterror notified, "Interference is plain crazy: We can certainly intercommunicate and stay in robot mode a bit longer, but detecting enemy signatures is another story. The Maximals might have the same problems."

"That's a chance I'll gladly take," Megatron decided, "And Transquito can meet them near the pathway entrance first if he likes fighting so much."

The Predacon in question perked up. "Oh, yeah! Muzzzzic to Tranzzzzquito'zz earzzzz!"

"Inferno!"

"Yes, my queen?"

"Don't call me that. Your vantage point lies here between mine and Manterror's. He will need all the time he can get setting up the final trap. A welcoming bonfire shouldn't be difficult for you, right?"

Inferno saluted. "It shall be done!"

"Good. Now then…"

While Megatron and Manterror discussed the plan, Transquito couldn't help nitpicking about Inferno's behavior. "Hey, Inferno."

"Yes, drone?"

"Watch it; Tranzzzquito'zzz more than a lowly drone. Now why do you inzzzizzzt on referring to Megatron azzz 'queen'?"

"Because the queen is always the colony's highest authority. Thus is Megatron's established rank."

"Why not juzzzt call him 'king' inzztead?"

"There is no king in a colony, only a queen."

"Doezzz that zzzound like a queen to you? I didn't think zzzzo." For once, Inferno felt confused although he let it slide.

Cycles later, the Maximals advanced toward their destination all of course in beast mode. Half of Optimus Primal began believing previous experiences as just a dream while the other half continued wondering. Mastering this new bat form would take further practice, but he was getting the hang of it. Claw Jaw stumbled around at the start since his beast mode required water and so hitched a ride on B'Boom's back. Airazor felt the mandrill's impatience over moving slowly on account of because she too liked moving faster in either mode. "The nearest clear path is just one more nanoklick away," B'Boom reported, "I still think you and Airazor could get there sooner if you just flew over the treetops, Optimus."

"Maybe so," Optimus Primal replied, "Except, I detest nasty surprises. If not the Predacons, someone could be waiting for unsuspecting passersby. The jungle's thick, but it'll provide much needed cover." Optimus Primal knew what B'Boom meant, recalling the evening Tigatron's pod landed in snowy mountaintops on prehistoric Earth. No way would the Maximal leader let another ambush like that knock him out of commission at least right now.

"The thicker, the better," B'Boom bragged, "Can't say why, but the jungle is my all-time home. No Pred can whip me in my natural environment."

"Or me," Claw Jaw added.

"Or me," Airazor chimed, wanting to be included in the discussion. Within a long while, the group surpassed even the plain and finally arrived to the entrance.

"Again, tread cautiously," Optimus Primal instructed, "If the forest is as thick as it looks, there are more surprises waiting inside. We've got smaller chances of spotting a trap or ambush here than we do above."

"I still think you or Airazor should've just flown over it, but whatever works best," B'Boom admitted.

"Very good, B'Boom," Optimus Primal complimented as the group entered, "You're making progress." Claw Jaw now no longer required a ride because the ground here felt moist enough to slither on, so he climbed off B'Boom's back. Three short cycles befell the Maximal leader's envy seeing the mandrill swing from branch to branch, wishing for his gorilla form. Then came trouble; his sudden halting made everybody else follow suit.

"Something wrong, Optimus?" Claw Jaw inquired.

"Anybody besides me hear a strange buzzing?"

Only the squid also picked it up. "Yeah, I hear it too."

"Sorry, but all I'm getting is zilch," B'Boom disagreed, "Sure you ain't dreaming?"

"Hey," Airazor announced, motioning towards an upcoming curve, "I thought I saw something huge hovering around that turn."

B'Boom took a look for himself. "That turn?" Airazor nodded. "Well, I missed it…" The mandrill Transformer then sniffed the air. "Hmm…smells like a huge insect. It could be either a Predacon or some undiscovered native life form."

"Inch forward slowly, and don't attack unless forced to," Optimus Primal spoke. The Maximals did just that, keeping all available sensors ready should anything or anyone try something from another direction. A quick peek around the corner unveiled no obvious danger, so they breathed a short relieved sigh.

"So far, so good," Airazor commented, "I can't understand one thing, though: How can there be enough static to disguise enemy energy signatures but not to keep us in beast mode longer or hinder communications between one another?"

"I think it's safe to assume the Predacons have the same situation," Optimus Primal guessed, "But as the expression goes, learn something new every day."

"And it's getting louder," Claw Jaw noted. Indeed, although they couldn't see the cause, the rushing wind of its physical movements let them know it was nearby. Optimus Primal attempted using his beast mode's echolocation talents to aid in targeting the annoying mass, but it still moved too quickly.

"I'm officially jealous," Airazor said, "How's this thing defying the extra-dense growths while we must traverse…" She stopped to clutch her agonized ears the next cycle. Regardless of how each one's beast mode grasped sound, the Maximals all soon held their otic sensors hard and screamed.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Claw Jaw cried, "Too loud! Where's the off-switch?"

"C'mon, team!" Optimus Primal directed, "Let's move before the swarm arrives!" So much for carefulness. The group rushed blindly along the path more than willing to endure possible traps. Other than undiscovered chuckling once their figures vanished, nothing yet hindered the Maximals' progress for a fraction of the distance. The buzzing didn't subside until sometime after the midpoint towards an obscure swamp. Optimus Primal, Airazor, and B'Boom took to the branches whereas Claw Jaw of course bobbed if not swam.

"Finally, it's gone," Claw Jaw puffed, "Whadda you all suppose?"

"Beats me," Airazor said, "Oh. I spy with my little eye."

"What?" the others wondered.

"I'm not sure. Appears lengthy and rugged."

"I'll go check," Optimus Primal volunteered, beating his bat wings. The figure in question wasn't too far, making backup for either faction a cinch. Coming close enough revealed none other than a seemingly docile crocodile who appeared to snooze.

"What's the scoop?" B'Boom called on his internal communicator.

"Nothing much, just a crocodile," Optimus Primal replied, "Seems harmless enough; it's sleeping." At that, the crocodile abruptly opened its eyes and whacked the bat Transformer with its tail into the thick watery soup. "Augh!"

"Think again, Optimus!" the crocodile – Megatron – spoke. Bites, more tail whacks, and scratches came Optimus Primal's way as Megatron splattered mud all over. That's when Claw Jaw's tentacles wrapped around the Predacon leader and tossed him aside, Airazor and B'Boom accompanying.

"Thanks, Claw Jaw," Optimus Primal complimented.

"Maximals, Maximize!" all four chorused.

"Megatron, Terrorize!" Five transformed figures now stood ankle-deep on the swampy ground. But who made a move first required further waiting. "So nice to meet you all so soon. Especially you, Optimus Primal."

"Excuse me if the feeling ain't mutual," Optimus Primal growled, receiving a smirk.

"The game's up," Claw Jaw put in, "Weren't there three more on your ship?"

"Funny you should azzzzk," came Transquito's voice from above. All faced not only a second Predacon but also the reason behind the previous irritating buzzing.

"Aha!" B'Boom declared, "One halfwit I know who sounds worse than an Energon power saw cutting through raw nickel!"

"Tranzzzquito, Terrorizze!" Although it brought the count to six, only Megatron didn't wonder why Transquito just flew off. Before the Predacon leader thought he'd do the same, the Maximals unsheathed their weapons: Optimus Primal; swords, Airazor; her usual blaster, Claw Jaw; some fuchsia claw-shaped weapon, and B'Boom; a dark-tan missile launcher. Falcon and mandrill fired away while squid and bat needed lunge forward. Megatron held his own relatively well using a double-barrel shotgun composing his crocodile tail. Just then, Airazor noticed something wrong.

"Look out!" she cried. The others barely also noticed, and all barely dodged Transquito's wings converted into giant poison-tipped pincers, which instead trimmed foliage.

"That does it, bug!" B'Boom decided, "Nobody clear-cuts my all-around vacation pad!" The mandrill fired some shots that detonated without scorching anything or anyone for every yellow-orange fireball his arthropodal opponent breathed out. Transquito proved his skills so well that it gave Megatron opportunity to leave them all holding the bag.

"Stop where you are!" Optimus Primal demanded, narrowly dodging another fireball. Great; two problems for the price of one. Pursue Megatron or take out Transquito. B'Boom knew once he knocked the mosquito down into the mud and began wrestling.

"Go on and stop Megatron! I'll squash this dumb bug!"

"No!" Airazor disagreed, "We can't just leave without you!"

"I'll be okay! One death won't matter if the Predacons reach whatever's giving off that essence! Just stop 'em!"

Optimus Primal really preferred helping B'Boom, but the other choice won the internal struggle. Transquito attempted some backhanded firepower if not for the mandrill shoving his face aside. Through the jungle, Megatron continued dodging and countering while the remaining Maximals chased. Inferno in robot mode waited behind a giant stalactite-like vine until after the Predacon leader passed before torching the area. "Burn, Maximals," he whispered, creating a huge firestorm in an instant. The trio miraculously entered a tiny clear patch sustaining little damage, but their endurance couldn't last. Plus, the flames' blurriness made them lose track of each other.

"Hey!" Claw Jaw cried, "Where'd everybody go?"

"Oh, great," Megatron complained. The scheme was too good. B'Boom, Transquito, and even Manterror's (who tossed his purple, bladed ion discs into the thicket in frustration) eyes widened as the blaze consumed almost the entire forest. Predacons got lost whereas Maximals pushed their way out (B'Boom needed revert to beast mode first before swinging from vine to vine) upon the other side. Afterward, the latter group came back together catching breath and ignoring the shrinking flames.

"Everyone alright?" Optimus Primal asked, receiving a triple A-OK.

"So much to burn, and it's not even that dry," Claw Jaw commented, "Think the Predacons escaped?"

"I'd rather not ponder it," Airazor spoke. Eyeing the rocky landscape ahead warily, the Maximals treaded cautiously the umpteenth occasion that day. The previous blaze subsided more and more the further they stepped. Finally, they paused before a fissure and stared down toward what should've been maybe hot lava but wasn't. It resembled melted rock with all those black splotches, semi-intense heat, a few bubbles, same texture, and a robust viscosity except for two differences: (1) It expressed varying green values rather than red, orange, and yellow characteristic of real lava, and (2) every moment globs splattered against the cliff walls, vines just like those from the burnt-down forest grew instantly. "Think we found our objective?"

"Probably," B'Boom guessed, "The static interference is lowest here. I'm picking up something from that stuff. What happens now?"

CLANG! A sudden strike to the ground made the Maximals turn around and find not only one of Manterror's disks two klicks near Optimus Primal's feet but also the Predacons all present and accounted for. "I'll tell you what," Megatron taunted, "You'll let us handle it while you depart."

"I'd rather self-destruct than let something who knows how dangerous fall into your hands, Megatron," Optimus Primal retorted.

"Why would you care?" Manterror added, "You don't even know what it is."

"And neither do you!" B'Boom shot back, instigating the next fighting round. Opposition went as followed: Optimus Primal; Megatron, B'Boom; Transquito, Airazor; Inferno, and Claw Jaw; Manterror. Rocky pieces seeped into the fissure with conflict tearing up the landscape.

"To face the Manterror is to face defeat!" was Manterror's battle cry. His duel against Claw Jaw began as something of a fist fight, clanging those discs upon the squid's claw-shaped lance time after time. One disc then soon came spinning toward its intended target and apparently missed, only to arc back much to a barely dodging Claw Jaw's surprise. Manterror's other fired disc at least broke the squid's lance though one klick away from his arm.

"You'll pay for that!" Claw Jaw threatened.

"Make me!" Manterror retorted. Claw Jaw in response shot out grapples originating from the pincers on his chest, tied the mantis up, swung him around, and slammed him on a nearby boulder. But the Predacon quickly recovered and unsheathed six more discs to make the same arcing motions as before, thereby giving the Maximal an obstacle course. One scratched his shoulder but nothing else yet.

"Burn, Maximal!" Inferno screamed, torching his and Airazor's portion of the battlefield overtime.

"Keep it coming, Predacon," the falcon muttered between shots.

Soon enough, the fire ant did a double take at how his opponent beat her wings harder and harder, as if purposely fanning the flames. Was she crazy? "Fool! Your gusts strengthen my firestorm!" But greater surprise presented itself via a flame tornado with Airazor hovering in the middle controlling it and looking down on Inferno. What did it all mean?

"Still got what it takes, ant?" Airazor remarked. Did she seriously believe she could turn his own elemental weapon against him? Shaking his confused head and no longer caring, Inferno continued exchanging shots.

"Oh yeah!" B'Boom cried, dodging more fireballs while retaliating, "You want some? You want some?"

"Tranzzzquito's tired of playing!" Following his same words, Transquito advanced the battle phase through unsheathing his wing pincers and attempting to chop off B'Boom's nearest body part. But the mandrill gripped the vicious blades firmly (careful not to prick hands on the poison tips) and stood still as the mosquito struggled to free himself. Once Transquito's backwards velocity reached a certain minor summit, B'Boom tore the wings off and let him impact the ground in a rolling motion. Then came some extra rounds from the Maximal's chest missile launchers. Transquito grabbed every rock fragment within reach and tossed them B'Boom's way, two rather sharp ones eventually impairing the launchers and so setting both Transformers back to the start.

Megatron was a tad surprised at Optimus Primal's fighting spirit, how the latter looked unusually peeved. Did the former and his group's reputations hastily precede them? "You must've waited for this moment a loooooong time, Optimus Primal," the Predacon leader taunted, his shotgun doubling as a shield to counter oncoming sword slashes, "We haven't even reached the good part yet. Nooo."

"I'll never forgive you for getting me trapped inside that trick pod," Optimus Primal snarled.

Megatron leapt aside and resumed open fire, which Optimus Primal's swords deflected. "Whatever that means, I'll keep it for reference. Oh, yes."

Casualties were in store as the combatants neared the edge of the fissure. The purple discs had by now taken their toll on Claw Jaw: scratched head and backside; damaged left optic; busted grapples; mangled right leg; and a deep scar running down his torso. Manterror would've finished the job with one more disc had the squid not attached to the mantis (thereby making him misfire) and begun draining the Predacon's Energon reserves via his fuchsia arms. Claw Jaw's last resort still wouldn't be enough despite that breaking free exhausted Manterror, so the maladroit disc decided the final outcome for them by returning and slicing through both their torsos (Claw Jaw first), narrowly missing their sparks. Entering stasis lock, both warriors separated from each other as they fell down just a margin away from the cliff. A wrestling B'Boom and Transquito came rolling by with their share of damage, knocking themselves and the downed Transformers all into the green goop.

Airazor fell (and quite literally) before Inferno although both felt fatigue coming on. The fire ant turned off his flamethrowers and watched the falcon collapse back first upon the ground. After making sure she'd entered stasis lock while confirming no aid for her in sight, Inferno picked up Airazor and stood on the edge with her held above his head. "For the royalty!"

That was enough to tip off Optimus Primal. "Airazor! Noooooo!" Shoving Megatron aside, the bat recklessly flung his sword at Inferno in a pathetic rescue attempt but was too late. Airazor's unconscious form plopped neatly into the goop with the fire ant following seconds later once the weapon knocked his data tracks silly in the back of his head. Both leaders then rushed over for closer inspection, not yet minding their other comrades' disappearances. "Airazor! You…you didn't…!"

"Inferno, you hapless heap of charcoal!" Megatron berated, "That's no way to obtain samples! You ruined the mission!"

"B'Boom! Claw Jaw!" Optimus Primal eyed the goop again and lowered his voice. "Oh, no. I hope they didn't suffer the same fate."

"Transquito!" Megatron called, ignoring his opponent's sentiments, "Manterror! …Where'd those two beryllium brains sneak off to?" Suddenly, the goop foamed and rippled until it formed a gentle half-whirlpool. Optimus Primal and Megatron stood back an increasing distance as it filled the remainder of the fissure, spilled over the edges, and crept its way in all directions. A dome-sized glop needed form before six forms shaped like the unfortunate Transformers' beast modes roared, screeched, howled, and then continued fighting one another. The being once known as Airazor flapped its wings to create huge gusts countered by fiery breath courtesy of who used to be Inferno.

The B'Boom copy brushed off fur that instantly became energy needles as the Transquito copy parlayed using its toxic proboscis like a lance. And the Claw Jaw duplicate unleashed black ink globs while the Manterror duplicate defended itself through thin energy ribbons that appeared with flicks of its forelimbs. Unable to comprehend anything, the two leaders soon found themselves fleeing the scene (Optimus Primal reverted to beast mode first) as the feuding forms melted back down and the goop flowed a bit faster. Neither gravity nor altitude hindered it. Once both Transformers reached the center of where the forest once stood, the green substance formed a towering tsunami.

"Nooooooooooooooo!" both cried, unable to escape the overwhelming force. More terrain, vegetation, water, earth, and raw Energon also disappeared with everything and everyone else under the makeshift ocean which proceeded to cover the entire planet surface. Only stuff in the major distance had more nanocycles left. Pretty soon, calm waves heralded the commotion's finale. Standing the Axalon's height, Optimus Primal felt his gorilla form and instincts returning despite that he lacked outer features other than his familiar red eyes and a green outlook with black splotches. On the other hand, Megatron looked like a mound twice the size of Optimus Primal with cannon arms and his only recognizable feature being his red eyes. Both also lacked mouths but could somehow communicate telepathically.

The remaining goop was now ankle-high to Optimus Primal. Megatron neither knew what to make of the situation nor cared either way; only finishing the battle mattered now. He powered up his arms requiring no instructions or tutoring and fired huge pink beams which incinerated his opponent's left forearm and right shoulder. Surprise struck again as Optimus Primal found his goop-based physique automatically regenerated afterward. As if that wasn't enough, blue energy gathered together when he unwittingly folded both arms so that his hands stood before his chest pointed towards each other. Four more beams struck a thigh, foot, elbow, and a portion of the head, but Optimus Primal remained static (save for repeated regeneration) without even flinching.

And after a fifth beam sailed cleanly overhead, Optimus Primal's unleashed blast reduced Megatron to millions of drops that didn't regenerate. Shortly after, a bright orb appeared from nowhere and spoke to the Maximal leader. "Optimus...Optimus Primal..."

He recognized it right away. "...The Oracle?"

Whoever or whatever it was extended a featureless hand and finger to tap his forehead, infusing him with something of a link. "We shall meet again one day." As it disappeared, the Maximal leader found himself bordering psychotic but unaware. The ever-flowing goop massaging his toes and ankles wouldn't alleviate the feeling. Not that he forgot everybody else the green goop consumed. What did this all mean? Was it a dream signifying events yet to unfold? Was it real? Was he real? And would he ever be able to come home to Cybertron? Questions swarming his mind, Optimus Primal soon noticed the goop appeared to slow down. All but him blurred and distorted. Then came dark-gray…forgetfulness of everything that happened after he awoke on the Magnaboss…familiar faces…and familiar events…

The End


End file.
